Why The Garage Floor Paint Peels Away Away
When people notice that their garage flooring is beginning to peel, their first reaction is to blame the paint. If the paint is peeling, then it’s obviously inferior paint, right? Well, no, probably not. In fact, inferior garage floor paint usually will not peel so much as wear away, crack, or dull. No, if your epoxy garage floor paint is peeling, then you probably have a moisture problem.
The Effect Of Moisture On Epoxy Garage Floor Paint
Although epoxy does a wonderful job of protecting the concrete garage floor from water in the air, such as rain or humidity, it can’t do a thing against water coming from below. The seal that the paint creates can keep everything from water to brake fluid from hitting the concrete floor. Oil, for example, will just sit right on top of epoxy paint until it is cleaned off.
Concrete Absorbs Liquids
Your concrete garage floor’s sides and bottom and underground, and that means it will absorb moisture from the ground. And if you are worried about stains, don’t be because they would be on the underside of the concrete. The problem though is that water always tries to find a way to evaporate, and that isn’t very ideal. Do you recall that seal-like ability that the epoxy floor coating creates? This seal won’t release water any sooner than it would let it in. And the moisture from the water around the concrete begins to make its own way to the top, the surface, it starts to pop up under the epoxy paint. Naturally, this creates bubbles that continue to collect more water until they burst, creating that peeling problem we were talking about before.
Epoxy Garage Floor Paint Does Not Get Along With Humidity
There are some area related factors that cause the dreaded peeling effect. Generally speaking, humidity plays a leading role. If you live in an area that is humid, most everything will stay damp, along with the earth under the concrete and also any wood that has not been treated that garages are commonly made of. Your concrete garage floor will absorb the moisture from these sources. But this situation can be increased fiercely when water pools from the concrete any where around your garage.
Ground Water Is No Exclusion
The height of your water table can also affect the garage floor coating. The water table is, put loosely, the surface of the ground water. If the water table sits high, this means that the water is sitting close to the bottom of your concrete, and the water will try to use the relatively porous garage flooring to make its way to the surface to evaporate. If the soil in your area tends to stay relatively moist, even when the earth is cracking only a few miles away from a heavy drought, then beware. It’s very likely that you have a high water table.
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